• FOR THE RECORD: The Cardinals head into their conference meeting against Bethel sitting at 3-3 overall, while boasting a 3-2 record in conference play.
• LAST ACTION: Raheem Anthony (Chicago, Ill.) scored 24 points to lead three Cardinal players in double figures, as Saint Mary’s rallied for a 63-60 conference road win at St. Olaf Wednesday evening. Kareem Anthony-Bello (Chicago, Ill.) and Breyton Buysman (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) each chipped in 11 points — with Buysman’s 11-point effort marking a career-high.
• WEEKLY HONOR: Fueled by his 23- and 35-point performances on Dec. 1 & 4, Anthony was named MIAC Athlete of the Week. It was the second time in his collegiate career that Anthony has been named MIAC AOW.
• FINALLY HOME: After playing five of their first six games on the road, the Cardinals close out the 2021 portion of their schedule with back-to-back home games, beginning with Bethel. SMU will then face UW-La Crosse at the Saint Mary’s Gym on Wednesday.
• CLOSE CALLS: With their 63-60 win over St. Olaf on Wednesday, the Cardinals’ first five conference games have been decided by a combined 20 points. SMU’s five conference games have including a two-point win over Macalester (63-61), a two-point win over St. Scholastica (68-66), and a three=point win over St. Olaf (63-60), while the Cardinals’ two losses were a three-point setback vs. Hamline (67-64) and a 10-point loss against Saint John’s (73-63) in a game that was a four-point contest with 2:30 to play in regulation, prior to last Saturday’s two-point win over St. Scholastica.
• GREATER THAN 20: Anthony’s 24-point performance against St. Olaf Wednesday marked the third straight game in which the Cardinal junior has scored 20 or more points, having netted 23 against Saint John’s on Dec. 1 and a career-high 35 vs. St. Scholastica last Saturday. Anthony has now scored 20 or more points 10 times in his career.
• CARRYING THE LOAD: Anthony’s career-high 35-point performance against St. Scholastica last Saturday accounted for more than half of the Cardinals’ 68 points — and was the team’s highest single-game performance since Eli Cave scored 35 against Martin Luther on Nov. 18, 2018.
• DOUBLING UP: Along with his career-high 35 points, Anthony also added 10 rebounds against St. Scholastica last Saturday en route to his first double-double of the season, and fifth of his collegiate career.
• LEADING THE CHARGE: Anthony enters SMU's matchup against Bethel averaging 24.0 ppg — tops in the MIAC. Anthony-Bello is sitting at 10.0 ppg, followed by Owen Ziegler (Mount Horeb, Wis. / 6.8 ppg), Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn. / 6.8 ppg), and Noah Frechette (Lakeville, Minn. / 6.2 ppg).
• CAREER PERFORMANCES: Saint Mary’s has six players who have recorded single-game career-highs of 10 or more points this season — Anthony (35 v. St. Scholastica), Ziegler 15 v. Hamline), Noah Frechette (Lakeville, Minn. / 14 v. Macalester), Hunter Phillips (Minong, Wis. / 13 v. Martin Luther), Buysman (11 v. St. Olaf), and Jabari Sawyer (Chicago, Ill. / 11 v. Macalester).
• PLENTY OF OPTIONS: Saint Mary’s put four players in double figures against Saint John’s on Dec. 1. Anthony led the way with 23 points, while Ziegler chipped in 12, and Freetly and Anthony-Bello each added 10.
• ON THE GLASS: Along with his team-leading 24.0 ppg scoring average, Anthony also leads the team in rebounds with 34 (8.5 rpg) — including a season-high 10 rebounds vs. St. Scholastica last Saturday. Anthony-Bello is second with 32 (6.4). … Saint Mary’s has recorded 38 or more rebounds in five of its first six games — including a season-high 41 against both Hamline and Macalester.
• GOING DEEP: The Cardinals drained a season-high 12 3 pointers against Saint John’s on Dec. 1, led by Anthony and Ziegler with three each. … SMU’s 12 3-pointers were just two shy of the single-game school record. … Saint Mary’s has knocked down 49 3-pointers through six games, led by Ziegler with 11 — including five en route to his career-high 15-point performance against Hamline on Nov. 23.
• LENDING A HAND: Saint Mary’s has dished out 69 assists in its first six games, including a season-high 15 against Augustana on Nov. 16. Anthony leads the team with 12 helpers, two more than both Anthony-Bello and Freetly.
• AS A TEAM: The Cardinals are shooting 40.4 percent from the field (147-for-364), with 49 3-pointers, and are 51-for-90 (56.7 percent) from the free throw line. Saint Mary’s is averaging 65.7 ppg, with their opponents scoring at a 67.7 ppg clip. … The Cardinals scored a season-high 73 points in their season-opening loss to Augustana on Nov. 16.
• WORKING OVERTIME: Saint Mary’s 79-73 loss to Augustana on Nov. 16 was its first overtime game since beating Carleton 79-77 on Feb. 12, 2020. Saint Mary’s finished 2-0 in overtime games during the 2019-20 season.
• SPREADING THE WEALTH: Eleven of the 12 Cardinals who saw playing time against Augustana on Nov. 16 scored at least two points, while nine different players have scored two or points three times this season.
• RARE HOME LOSS: The Cardinals’ 73-63 loss to Saint John’s on Dec. 1 snapped SMU’s three-game home winning streak. Saint Mary’s closed out the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season a perfect 3-0 on their home court — beating Gustavus (67-45), Bethel (57-48), and Hamline (57-54).
• STREAK-SNAPPER: The Cardinals’ 63-60 win over St. Olaf was their first win in Northfield since beating the Oles 66-57 on Jan. 16, 2013.
• CONFERENCE CLIMB: Prior to its conference-opener against Macalester on Nov. 20, Saint Mary’s had not played an official MIAC game since the 2019-20 season, when the Cardinals finished 10-10 and earned their first MIAC Tournament berth since 1985. Saint Mary’s made its first MIAC Tournament appearance since 1985 in 2019-20, collecting the program’s first postseason victory with its 72-59 quarterfinal win over Bethel on Feb. 25. … SMU’s 10 MIAC wins in 2019-20 were the most since going 11-9 during the 1999-2000 season.